Oven Pride ad not sexist so much as idiotic

This Oven Pride spot has caused an uproar in the U.K. Set to nursery-school music, it features a husband learning a lesson in the kitchen as the announcer keeps repeating, "Oven Pride. So easy, even a man can do it!" Hey, sweet, I didn't realize we were bringing the '80s role-reversal thing back! In 1979, Kramer vs. Kramer showed that a father could learn how to make breakfast. Advertisers picked up on the trend big time, for two reasons: 1) They had finally sniffed out this thing called feminism; and 2) Somebody had to look stupid in order to learn a lesson in a commercial, so now it was the man. Hee hee! The trend is still happening, to some degree, as advertisers pander to women, but not with the aesthetic sledgehammer of this particular spot. I guess it's meant to be taken straight—it's too dumb to be ironic. But the bigger takeaway for me is how hard it is to use the product—and how little it helps. This big lug has to place heavy, greasy oven racks in big plastic bags, shake them, then remove them and wash them off. The main problem with washing oven racks is getting the things in and out of the oven. If you're going to have to rinse them off in the sink anyway, how much good does pre-rinsing them in giant bags do? Stupid product, stupid commercial. Now, honey, get me my breakfast, and make it snappy! You think these caribou slippers put themselves on?

—Posted by Barbara Lippert

June 2, 2009 in Controversy, Europe, House and home, Lippert | Permalink